title: Non-engineered nanoparticles of C₆₀.
abstract: We discovered that rubbing bulk solids of C₆₀ between fingertips generates nanoparticles including the ones smaller than 20 nm. Considering the difficulties usually associated with nanoparticle production by pulverisation, formation of nanoparticles by such a mundane method is unprecedented and noteworthy. We also found that nanoparticles of C₆₀ could be generated from bulk solids incidentally without deliberate engineering of any sort. Our findings imply that there exist highly unusual human exposure routes to nanoparticles of C₆₀, and elucidating formation mechanisms of nanoparticles is crucial in assessing their environmental impacts.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biogeosciences, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology-JAMSTEC, 2-15 Natsushima-cho, Yokosuka 237-0061, Japan. shigeru.deguchi@jamstec.go.jp
authors.forename: Shigeru
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Deguchi
authors.forename: Sada-atsu
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Mukai
authors.forename: Hide
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sakaguchi
authors.forename: Yoshimune
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nonomura
mesh_terms: D006838:Hydrocarbons / Q000737:chemistry*; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D053758:Nanoparticles
chemical_list: D006838:Hydrocarbons